Sorry it took so long again; I promise you won't have to wait a full week again! This round was a mixed bag with some great stuff, but also some songs I sadly didn't warm to:

Surrounded in all the light

adace: Casualties of Cool – FlightThis is utterly beautiful! The vocals, guitars, atmosphere, everything... wow I think this is the first time a song by a Devin-related project has just blown me away. Is the rest of the album like this and can you find it in a normal record store (i.e. outside the pledge thing)?

senecadawg2: Clint Mansell – Death Is the Road to AweI haven’t heard a lot of soundtrack music (as I’ve said, I tend to gravitate towards music with vocals), but this song matches my idea of soundtrack music pretty well: atmospheric, orchestral, dramatic, epic... The mellow first half feels a tad long, but once it reaches the climax: Just when you think the rest of the song is going to be calm, there’s an even more epic moment! I’m not a movie person, but I should watch the film this is from (The Fountain) someday to experience the full effect of the song.

Scorpion: Massive Attack – AngelI’ve heard Mezzanine once, but that was over a year ago and I don’t remember anything about it. There’s a dark and mysterious vibe here, and the eerie female vocals match it perfectly. The bass is awesome and the guitars add some needed edge. Man, I need to listen to this album again!

Shadow Ninja 2.0: Pete Yorn – Lose YouThe song begins with some weird effects and you don’t really know what to expect, until a haunting piano melody enters in. The instrumentation is good for this kind of minimalistic, sad song. The singer reminds me of Kevin Moore and sounds kind of disinterested at times, but vocal virtuosity isn’t needed, because the melodies are frickin’ beautiful.

I feel like you're in dangah

LieLowTheWantedMan: Electric Wizard – FuneralopolisCrushing yet rocking riffs and dirty guitars… Oh yeah! I’m more familiar with modern doom metal, but this old-school kind of stuff isn’t too shabby, either. The muddy production especially gives this a Sabbath-y 70s feel. The song is kind of repetitive and the vocals are pretty monotonous (I couldn’t listen to a full album of that kind of shouting!), but that can be forgiven.

Evermind: Mostly Autumn – The Night SkyI like the folk/ambient vibe! The violin playing is pretty and the guitar lead at the end is beautiful. The ending does drag on unfortunately (does the solo really need to be 4 minutes long?), but doesn’t destroy the song.

Elimination Theory

kingshmegland: Beardfish – Destined SolitaireOk, this song has got some cool riffing and the acoustic parts are nice. The vocals are kinda irritating (c wut I did there? ), although the growling bit is bad-ass. Sadly the song meanders a bit too much and I don’t feel it achieves what it’s trying to accomplish.

Onno: Mr. Bungle – Ars MoriendiWhaaat?! I have to admit that I’ve never heard so many genres mixed together in a single song: there’s metal, folk, polka, disco, jazz and... well, everything you can imagine! This definitely made me smile and gave me a good chuckle, but unfortunately judging songs is srs bsns and this kind of music is too bizarre and crazy for me.

We're officially halfway through this roulette, as there are 4 rounds left! 6 participants are still in the game (no fogeys anymore, though ) and the next round is the last one where 2 get eliminated, before we move on to single eliminations.

Evermind: Mostly Autumn – The Night SkyI like the folk/ambient vibe! The violin playing is pretty and the guitar lead at the end is beautiful. The ending does drag on unfortunately (does the solo really need to be 4 minutes long?), but doesn’t destroy the song.

Yeah, I know. That's the main flaw of the song, but I felt the rest of it is good enough to get me a pass, and I had an immunity anyway, so that was the best time to find out what you think.

The pressure definitely rises now, I need to think about my entry a bit.

After waffling back and forth for over an hour, I finally decided on a song. It was a little rough balancing the choices, and taking into consideration that I'm going to need increasingly high quality songs in subsequent rounds … but I think I made the right choice.

That's what I do when score is being accumulated and I'm clearly losing or going to lose. Or if its one of the first couple rounds in the roulette. But later, when I'm in a position to possibly win, my competitiveness takes over and I become a rabid animal.

Glad you liked it so much! A few other songs on the album such as Moon are like that with the rest being more straightforward country ones and some instrumental interludes. I know Best Buy carries it so I assume most record stores do as well. If you're gonna listen to the whole thing, be sure to check out the bonus disc too.

Glad you liked it so much! A few other songs on the album such as Moon are like that with the rest being more straightforward country ones and some instrumental interludes. I know Best Buy carries it so I assume most record stores do as well. If you're gonna listen to the whole thing, be sure to check out the bonus disc too.

I've been busy lately and there has been a bit of thunder in the recent days, which has limited my listening time. Choosing players for elimination was tougher than ever before, but that's natural due to the amount of participants left and the overall quality of the songs.

On the top of the moon

senecadawg2: Journey – Of a LifetimeI saw the Journey documentary on TV a while ago and I’ve heard some of their hits, but this is something different - probably better. The vocals are the weak link, as the singer’s voice sounds kind of strained in some of the higher and louder parts, but luckily the musicianship is top-notch: the guitar leads are just awesome, the drumming and bass lines are cool and the organ and Moog add some color. Nice piece of old-school prog!

LieLowTheWantedMan: Ride – SeagullOk, this is surprisingly straightforward and rocking for a shoegaze band! Of course the feedback and guitar effects make it clear what genre they belong to, but this is a pretty accessible and energetic song. I like the vocal harmonies and that you can actually make out what they’re singing.

Evermind: Kamelot – AbandonedThe audio in the video sounded like it had been transposed 0,25 steps up or down, which kind of annoyed me, so I listened to the song on Spotify. My ears can be sensitive sometimes! Anyway, I've never heard a single song by Kamelot before, as I'm not into power metal these days, but this song surprised me positively, as it’s a beautiful ballad. The singer has a nice voice that sounds a little bit like Geoff Tate (when he was still good) and I guess I don’t even have to mention the piano... The ending is powerful!

Still in the spaceship

Shadow Ninja: Entwine – Nothing Left to SayGoth metal from my home country... The keyboard patch in the intro sounds kind of dated and cheap, but the guitar sound is crunchy and punchy The vocalist doesn’t sound like a stereotypical singer of this genre. I wish the song wasn't so safe, but it's pretty catchy and I like the solo, so you're safe too

Swallowed by a black hole

adace: Mono – Dream OdysseyThere’s a beautiful and pleasant atmosphere in this song – clean guitar leads and piano... The key change after 3 minutes is subtle and tasteful. Unfortunately something has got to go, and I picked this one, because the song goes on a bit too long, even though I like it.

Scorpion: Enslaved – Thoughts Like HammersNow that’s a chaotic intro! The melodic sections are good and I like the clean vocals, but sadly the black metal elements are a bit too prominent for my taste and I don’t like the screams. Sorry dude, you’ve been one of the most consistent players in the game so far and I really tried to get into this, but unfortunately I couldn’t

Alright, we have four names in our Mount Rushmore and they are:

senecadawg2LieLowTheWantedManShadow NinjaEvermind

The next round is a little bit different: you have to send TWO songs instead of one. I'll rank the songs and give them points based on their position, and the player with the lowest average score will be kicked out.

Also, I once again have to go travelling with my folks, so it'll take at least a week until you get any results. But then again, pretty much all the rounds have taken at least one week and the other roulettes don't seem to be progressing much faster than mine, so I guess it's ok

Evermind: Kamelot – The Black HaloThe audio in the video sounded like it had been transposed 0,25 steps up or down, which kind of annoyed me, so I listened to the song on Spotify. My ears can be sensitive sometimes! Anyway, I've never heard a single song by Kamelot before, as I'm not into power metal these days, but this song surprised me positively, as it’s a beautiful ballad. The singer has a nice voice that sounds a little bit like Geoff Tate (when he was still good) and I guess I don’t even have to mention the piano... The ending is powerful!

Roy Khan is one of the best singers in metal (well, was, since he gave up on music, but he's been replaced by the almost equally good Tommy Karevik), and Kamelot is the most tasteful power metal there is, so you should really listen to their stuff from 2000 onwards when you get some free time

Logged

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Don't try to BS Milena about Kevin Moore facts, she will obscure quote you in the face.

The song is actually called Abandoned, The Black Halo is the album. There is a title track too, but it's definitely not a beautiful ballad. Anyway, really glad you liked it, and happy I've made it that far.

Edit: oh, and I can't help with the audio quality really, Spotify isn't available in my country it seems. It's nice you managed to find a decent version.

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Roy Khan is one of the best singers in metal (well, was, since he gave up on music, but he's been replaced by the almost equally good Tommy Karevik), and Kamelot is the most tasteful power metal there is, so you should really listen to their stuff from 2000 onwards when you get some free time

The write-ups may be pretty short this time, because I didn't get a chance to start listening properly until less than two days ago and I didn't want to keep you waiting just for the sake of rambling a little bit more

senecadawg2: Björk – It’s Not Up to YouMy sister is a Björk fan, so I’ve been exposed to some of her stuff, but I don’t remember hearing this song before. Björk’s voice and enunciation are unusual, but in a good way. I like how this song sounds pretty experimental and interesting, yet catchy and accessible at the same time.Rating: 8

Shadow Ninja: Assemblage 23 – Let Me Be Your ArmorMore up-tempo and danceable than most of the electronic(-based) music I listen to, but I like this nevertheless! The melodies are catchy and I like the lyrics.Rating: 7

LieLowTheWantedMan: Goldfrapp – Lovely HeadThe title makes me imagine someone saying “oh darling, you have such a lovely head!” Anyway, the Portishead comparisons seem valid, as this song represents a similar brand of jazzy and mysterious trip hop. Me likey!Rating: 6

senecadawg2: Gallowbraid – Stone of RemembranceBlack metal and folk metal aren’t really my thing and those two subgenres are combined here, but this isn’t too shabby. There are some nice guitar leads, the growls are convincing and the flute doesn’t make the song too cheesy. I have to admit that the falsetto scream at 2:25 is pretty hilarious, though! Rating: 5

Evermind: Vanden Plas – Vision 8ight – Misery AffectionI think I’ve received at least one piano-driven ballad in each round since I mentioned about my soft spot for them The female vocals are beautiful! The song isn’t massively exciting in the first half, but once the guitars and drums come in, it gets great.Rating: 4

Shadow Ninja: Radiohead – How to Disappear CompletelyI know (almost) everyone in the world worships Radiohead, and I’ve tried to get into them too, but Thom Yorke’s whining has always been a huge obstacle for me and their music hasn’t completely managed to capture my attention either. This song is actually pretty good and enjoyable, but unfortunately I still don’t like Yorke’s vocals that much.Rating: 3

Evermind: Avantasia – The ScarecrowI know Avantasia as an Ayreon-like rock opera thing, but I’ve never heard any songs. Lande’s powerful vocals are the high point of this tune and I like the quiet interlude, but I think the song could’ve benefited if it had been trimmed down, as it’s kind of repetitive for an 11-minute piece.Rating: 2

LieLowTheWantedMan: Brand New – DaisyAs a huge Kevin Moore fan I have a tendency to like songs with spoken word samples The gentle guitars in the first half are nice and the song gets louder, but not too harsh or noisy. Unfortunately the song is pretty short at just 3 minutes and doesn't manage to wow me.Rating: 1